Punch Bowl Hole :
The 'Punchbowl' is basic - another generic hole from the early days of golf when many greens were positioned in natural hollows so as to conserve as much moisture as possible. Many Macdonald/Raynor versions incorporated deception bunkering 50 to 70 yards short of the green to obscure the target - those were the great days of no yardage books or sprinkler head markings. For the layman, this style green can be described simply as a catcher's mitt. Often, Macdonald and Raynor combined an Alps hill with this style green. This brings to mind the great 4th at Fishers Island.
The 4th hole green at Fisher's Island.
The standard design of a punchbowl is that the green is a blind shot and on the approach, the shot had to land over a ridge that would then feed the ball downhill into a concave green .
The fabulous 16th hole at NGLA.
The 17th hole at Yeaman's Hall. Courtesy of GCA.Com
The 3rd hole at West Hampton. Courtesy of GCA.Com
The 6th Hole at Black Creek, Note the ridge in front, and the green sets a full 50 yards behind this mound. Courtesy of GCA.Com
One of the nicest Punchbowls is the #12 at Chicago Golf - the opening is on the left and the green is almost all visible and it is at the same grade as the fairway. There is large bunker guarding the approach from the right side of the fairway - its berm partially obstructs the view of the right portion of the green and it is not in a sunken bowl.
The 12th Hole at Chicago. Courtesy of GCA.Com
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